Lock assembly for litter bins

ABSTRACT

A litter bin having a hinged door is provided with a lock assembly comprising a bar mounted for vertical sliding movement along an inner surface of the door and having a pair of vertically-spaced latch members which extend through corresponding slots on a confronting wall portion of the litter bin. A spring biases the bar downwardly to a locking position in which the latch members overlap said wall portion and prevent the door from being opened. A small circular keyhole is located in the door and is spaced beneath a release pin which projects from the bar. The lock may be opened by a key having a shank formed with an angular terminal portion which is sized to be inserted through the keyhole, and is sufficiently long to engage and raise the release pin when the shank of the inserted key is turned downwardly.

[451 Mar. 27, 1973 1 LOCK ASSEMBLY FOR LITTER BINS [76] Inventor: HarryZelenko, 150 East 61st St.,

New York, NY. 10021 22 Filed: Nov. 16, 1971 21 Appl.No.: 199,289

[52] US. Cl. ..70/78, 70/156, 70/403,

292/161, 292/DIG. 68 [51 Int. Cl ..E05b 65/52, E05b 35/00 [58] Field ofSearch ..70/63, 70, 71, 78, 79, 80,

70/142, 145, 169, 289; 292/116, 117, 118, 165,173,DlG.68,120,128,161,162

FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 287,341 2/ 1965 Netherlands ..70/78Primary Examiner-Albert G. Craig, Jr. Attorney-Edward F. Levy ABSTRACT Alitter bin having a hinged door is provided with a lock assemblycomprising a bar mounted for vertical sliding movement along an innersurface of the door and having a pair of vertically-spaced latch memberswhich extend through corresponding slots on a confronting wall portionof the litter bin. A spring biases the bar downwardly to a lockingposition in which the latch members overlap said wall portion andprevent the door from being opened. A small circular keyhole is locatedin the door and is spaced beneath a release pin which projects from thebar. The lock may be opened by a key having a shank formed with anangular terminal portion which is sized to be inserted through thekeyhole, and is sufiiciently long to engage and raise the release pinwhen the shank of the inserted key is turned downwardly.

7 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures PATENTEDmznms INVENTOR.

HARRY ZELENKO BY ATTORNEY 1 LOCK ASSEMBLY FOR LI'I'IER BINS theaccumulated litter. Many of these bins also have transparent advertisingmaterial mounted in the walls thereof, and electric lamps located withinthe interior of the bin for illuminating the advertising material.

In order to prevent removal and scattering of the accumulated litter byvandals, as well as to prevent theft of the advertising material andlamps within the bins, it is desirable to provide the litter bin with alock mechanism which will prevent unauthorized persons from opening thedoor, and which may be easily opened by an authorized litter collector.

It is an object of the present invention, therefore, to provide 'a lockassembly for litter bins of the type described which includes a lockmechanism formed'of a few simple parts which are substantially jam-proofin operation, and which may be economically manufactured and installedin the door of the litter bin.

Another object of the invention is the provision of a lock assembly ofthe character described which is of rugged construction which willwithstand rough and continuous use.

A further object of the invention is the provision of a lock assembly ofthe character described which can be easily and rapidly opened by use ofa key having a straight shank and an angularly-bent terminal portion,but which has a keyhole located at a point remote from any movingmechanism parts, so that the lock will withstand picking by insertion ofa straight instrument through the keyhole.

In accordance with the invention there is provided in a litterbin havinga door hinged thereto, a lock assembly including an elongated barmounted for longitudinal sliding movement along an inner wall surface ofsaid door, at least one latch member projecting inwardly from said barand having a latch tooth positioned to overlap a wall portion of thelitter bin when the door is in closed position, and spring means biasingthe bar to a locking position in which said latch tooth overlaps saidwall portion. The lock assembly also includes a release pin projectinglaterally from said bar, a

' keyhole in the door in alignment with said release pin but spaced asubstantial distance therefrom, and a key sized for insertion in saidkeyhole. The key has an elongated shank formed with a terminal portionextending angularly therefrom, the terminal portion being of a lengthgreater than the distance between the release pin and the keyhole, sothat when the terminal portion is inserted through the keyhole and theshank is pivoted away from the door, the terminal portion engages therelease pin and lifts the bar and the latch member to a releaseposition.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will become apparentduring the course of the follow- FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of alitter bin incorporating the lock assembly of the present invention,with the litter bin door shown in open position;

FIG; 2 is a front elevational view of the litter bin of FIG. 1, with thedoor shown in closed position;

FIG. 3' is an enlarged section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a section taken along line 4--4 of FIG. 3.

Referring in detail to the drawings, there is shown in FIG. 1 a litterbin 10 incorporating the lock construction of the present invention. Thebin 10 has a bottom wall 12, side walls 14 and 16, rear wall 18 and anopen front wall formed by narrow elongated flanges 20, 22v

and 24 formed integrally with and extending perpendicularly from therespective side walls 14, 16 and bottom wall 12. The flanges 20, 22 and24 define therebetween a front access opening 26 which is covered by adoor 28 mounted by'hin'ges 30 on the flange 22.

The upper end of the bin 10 is enclosed by a gabled top portion 32,beneath which are elongated rectangular openings 34 through which littermay be deposited into the interior of the bin 10. For receiving thedeposited litter, a large bag (not shown) of fabric, plastic or thelike, may be removably mounted in open condition within the bin.

The bin 10 in the form shown is adapted to be mounted upon a lamp postor other street pole at a suitable height above ground level at whichthe rectangular openings 34 are conveniently accessible to passers-byfor the depositing of litter. In addition, in one commercial form of thebin 10, the walls are provided with windows containing transparentadvertising material which is illuminated by electric lamps locatedbehind the windows and accessible from the interior of the bin. Thewindows, advertising material and lamps are not shown herein since theyform no part of the present invention. The'lock means of the presentinvention, however, is intended to secure the door 28 in closedcondition, thereby'protecting the lamps, advertising and electricalcomponents against theft and tampering, and also preventing vandals fromgaining ready access to the deposited litter within the bin.

Thedoor 28vis of hollow, double-wall construction for containing themovable components of the lock mechanism. As shown in FIG. 1, the hollowdoor 28 comprises an inner wall panel 36, an outer wall panel 38, topand bottom walls 40 and 42, and end walls 44 and 46. An elongatedrectangular aperture 48 is formed along the outer edge of the inner wallpanel 36 adjacentthe end wall 44. The aperture 48 is closed off by acover plate 50 which fits snugly within said aperture. The plate 50 hasa pair of side flanges 52 and 54 (FIG. 4) which enclose the lockmechanism, and top and bottom flanges 56 and 58. As shown in FIG. 3 thetop and bottom flanges 56 and 58 engage the respective top and bottomwalls 40 and 42 of the door 28, and a suitable number of screws, such asthe screw 57 shown in FIG; 3, extend through apertures in the inner wallpanel 36 and are received in intemally-threaded studs ing specificationwhen taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in whichz 59welded to the outer wall panel 38 to hold the cover plate 50 rigidly inmounted position. The screws 57 may be unfastened to permit the coverplate to be removed, when necessary, for repair of the lock parts.

Slidably mounted between the side flanges 52 and S4 of the cover plate50 is an elongated bar 60 which is slightly shorter than the height ofthe door 28. Formed integrally with the bar 60 and projecting therefromare a pair of vertically-spaced latch members 62 and 64, each having aninclined forward edge 66 terminating in a depending latch tooth 68. Asshown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the latch members extend forwardly from bar60 through respective narrow slots 70 and 72 in the cover plate 50. Acoil spring 74, mounted between the flange 56 and the top surface of bar60, urges the latter downwardly to the locking position shown in FIG. 3,in which the lower edges of the latch members 62 and 64 engage thebottom edges of the respective slots 70 and 72.

Formed integrally with the bar 60 and projecting perpendicularly fromthe side edge thereof is a release pin 76, which may be in the form of arectangular bar, as shown. In the locking position of bar 60, therelease pin is spaced a substantial distance above a circular keyhole 78in the outer. wall panel 38 of door 28, which keyhole 78 is locatedapproximately midway between the top and bottom edges of the door. Thekeyhole 78 is of slightly larger diameter than the diameter of the bentterminal portion 82 of a key 80, thereby permitting said terminalportion 82 to be inserted through said keyhole 78 into the interior ofdoor 28 for engagement with the release pin 76, in a manner to bepresently described. For this purpose, the terminal portion 82 has alength greater than the distance between the release pin 76 and thekeyhole 78.

The flange of the litter bin body is also provided with a pair of narrowslots 84 and 86 which are sized and positioned to register with therespective slots 70 and 72 when the door 28 is in closed position. Whenthe door is slammed shut, it is self locking. As the door approaches itsclosed position, the inclined forward edges 66 of the latch members 62and 64 strike the lower edges of the respective slots 84 and 86 andfunction as cam means to lift the cam members 62 and 64, against thetension of spring 74, to an elevated position in which the latch teeth68 can clear the respective bottom edges of slots 84 and 86 and passthrough the latter. In the closed position of the door shown in FIG. 3,the teeth 68 of both latch members 62, 64 are located inwardly of therespective slots 84 and 86 and overlap the portions of the flange 20beneath the slots. The downward biasing force of spring 74 upon bar 60maintains the latch members 62, 64 in firm engagement with the bottomedges of the aligned pairs of slots 70, 84 and 72, 86, and the latchteeth 68 in this latching position hold the door 28 firmly closed andprevent it from being opened by unauthorized persons.

The key 80 has a large circular handle 88 formed integrally with astraight shank 90 of circular cross-section, the free end of which isbent at an angle of approx imately 90 to provide a curved bend 92joining the terminal section 82. To open the lock, the terminal sec tion82 is inserted through the circular keyhole 78 until the curved bend 92rests upon the lower surface of the keyhole. The key shank 90 is thenturned downwardly, the curved bend 92 serving as a pivot point toelevate the terminal section 82 so that the tip of the latter engagesthe lower surface of the release pin 76. As the shank 90 is turnedfurther downwardly, the tip of the terminal portion raises the releasepin 76, and its connected bar 60, to a position in which the latch teeth68 are elevated into alignment with the slots 84 and 86. An outward pullupon the inserted key will now swing the door 28 to open position, theraised latch members 62 and 64 passing freely through the respectiveslots 84 and 86.

A pair of pins 94 and 96 are mounted on the flange 20 and projectforwardly therefrom directly beneath the slots 84 and 86. When the door28 is in closed position, these pins 94 and 96 pass through respectiveapertures 98 and lll0-in the cover plate 50, and thus underlie the loweredges of the latch members 62 and 64. These pins 94 and 96 preventunauthorized opening of the lock which might otherwise occur should aflat object such as a knife blade be inserted in the space between theflange 20 and the cover plate 50 of the closed door and then slidupwardly to engage the under surface of either of the latch members 62or 64.

It will be appreciated that the lock assembly described above provides arugged construction which will withstand hard and prolonged wear andadverse weather conditions without jamming or becoming damaged. A littercollector may be provided with a single key which will fit and open allof the litter bins on his route, the opening operation being simple,rapid and fool-proof. Because of the location of the release pin 76 wellabove the small, circular keyhole 78, it will be evident that the lockcannot be picked by insertion of a straight instrument through thekeyhole. Manipulation of an inserted straight instrument cannot engageany movable part of the lock assembly.

While a preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown anddescribed herein, it is obvious that numerous omissions, changes andadditions may be made in such embodiment without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A lock assembly for a litter bin having a door hinged thereto, saiddoor having an outer wall panel, said lock assembly comprising anelongated bar mounted for longitudinal sliding movement along an innersurface of the outer wall panel of said door, at least one latch memberprojecting inwardly from said bar and having a latch tooth positioned tooverlap a wall portion of said litter bin when said door is in closedposition, spring means biasing said bar to a locking position in whichsaid latch tooth overlaps said wall portion, a release pin projectinglaterally from said bar, a keyhole in said outer wall panel in alignmentwith said release pin and spaced a substantial distance therefrom, and akey including an elongated shank having a terminal portion extendingangularly from said shank, said terminal portion being sized forinsertion through said keyhole and having a length longer than thedistance between said release pin and said keyhole, whereby when saidterminal portion is inserted through said keyhole and said shank ispivoted in a selected direction, the terminal portion engages saidrelease pin and moves the latter and said bar against the tension ofsaid spring means to a release position in which said latch tooth isclear of said wall portion.

2. A lock assembly according to claim 1 which also includes a coverplate mounted on said door and spaced behind the inner surface of saidouter wall panel, said bar being mounted in a vertical position betweensaid cover plate and said outer wall panel for downward movement to itslocking position and upward movement to its release position.

3. A lock assembly according to claim 2 in which said keyhole has acircular cross-section and is spaced below said release pin, and inwhich said key has a curved bend joining said terminal portion to saidshank, said terminal portion being sized to be inserted fully throughsaid keyhole with said curved bend located within said keyhole andserving as a pivot to lift said terminal portion into engagement withsaid release pin when said shank is turned downwardly. I

4. A lock assembly according to claim 2 in which a pair ofvertically-spaced latch members project inwardly from said bar, saidcover plate having a pair of elongated slots positioned to register withsaid latch members, said latch members extending through said respectiveslots with said latch teeth spaced out-wardly of said cover plate, saidspring means biasing said bar downwardly to a position in which saidlatch members rest upon the bottom ends of said slots.

5. A lock assembly according to claim 4 in which said wall portion ofsaid litter bin has a pair of elongated slots positioned to registerwith the respective slots of said cover plate when said door is inclosed position, said latch members being of sufficient length to extendthrough said wall portion slots with said latch teeth located behind andoverlapping the wall portion beneath said slots.

6. A lock assembly according to claim 5 in which each of said latchmembers has an inclined forward surface positioned to engage with saidwall portion when said door is brought to its closed position, forcamming said latch members upwardly to a position in which said latchteeth are in alignment with the respective slots in said wall portion.

7. A lock assembly according to claim 5 in which a pin is mounted on theouter surface of said wall portion immediately beneath each of said wallportion slots, and in which said cover plate has a respective aperturepositioned to receive each of said pins when said door is in closedposition.

1. A lock assembly for a litter bin having a door hinged thereto, saiddoor having an outer wall panel, said lock assembly comprising anelongated bar mounted for longitudinal sliding movement along an innersurface of the outer wall panel of said door, at least one latch memberprojecting inwardly from said bar and having a latch tooth positioned tooverlap a wall portion of said litter bin when said door is in closedposition, spring means biasing said bar to a locking position in whichsaid latch tooth overlaps said wall portion, a release pin projectinglaterally from said bar, a keyhole in said outer wall panel in alignmentwith said release pin and spaced a substantial distance therefrom, and akey including an elongated shank having a terminal portion extendingangularly from said shank, said terminal portion being sized forinsertion through said keyhole and having a length longer than thedistance between said release pin and said keyhole, whereby when saidterminal portion is inserted through said keyhole and said shank ispivoted in a selected direction, the terminal portion engages saidrelease pin and moves the latter and said bar against the tension ofsaid spring means to a release position in which said latch tooth isclear of said wall portion.
 2. A lock assembly according to claim 1which also includes a cover plate mounted on said door and spaced behindthe inner surface of said outer wall panel, said bar being mounted in avertical position between said cover plate and said outer wall panel fordownward movement to its locking position and upward movement to itsrelease position.
 3. A lock assembly according to claim 2 in which saidkeyhole has a circular cross-section and is spaced below said releasepin, and in which said key has a curved bend joining said terminalportion to said shank, said terminal portion being sized to be insertedfully through said keyhole with said curved bend located within saidkeyhole and serving as a pivot to lift said terminal portion intoengagement with said release pin when said shank is turned downwardly.4. A lock assembly according to claim 2 in which a pair ofvertically-spaced latch members project inwardly from said bar, saidcover plate having a pair of elongated slots positioned to register withsaid latch members, said latch members extending through said respectiveslots with said latch teeth spaced out-wardly of said cover plate, saidspring means biasing said bar downwardly to a position in which saidlatch members rest upon the bottom ends of said slots.
 5. A lockassembly according to claim 4 in which said wall portion of said litterbin has a pair of elongated slots positioned to register with therespective slots of said cover plate when said door is in closedposition, said latch members being of sufficient length to extendthrough said wall portion slots with said latch teeth located behind andoverlapping the wall portion beneath said slots.
 6. A lock assemblyaccording to claim 5 in which each of said latch members has an inclinedforward surface positioned to engage with said wall portion when saiddoor is brought to its closed position, for camming said latch membersupwardly to a position in which said latch teeth are in alignment withthe respective slots in said wall portion.
 7. A lock assembly accordingto claim 5 in which a pin is mounted on the outer surface of said wallportion immediately beneath each of said wall portion slots, and inwhich said cover plate has a respective aperture positioned to receiveeach of said pins when said door is in closed position.